Wednesday, April 27, 2016

In A Dull Industry? How Content Marketing Can Still Work

How Content Marketing Can Still Work


In A Dull Industry? How Content Marketing Can Still Work


Regardless of whether you sell leaf blowers online or provide financial planning advice to retirees, your industry is NOT as boring as you think it is.


One of the reasons you may be feeling like this is because you have been in it, AND at it for such a long time that you may feel like you are running out of content marketing ideas.


Content Marketing Ideas


In fact, how many times have you heard someone tell you how funny, witty or interesting one of your loved ones were?


If you are like most, then your reaction may have been – “Really?  I don't think so.”


This has less to do with what they are REALLY like, and more to do with the fact that you probably have been around them the longest.


Perhaps it's because you've just got dirty windows.


Wait, what?



 


Ever heard that joke about the guy that complained constantly day after day about his neighbors' laundry.  It goes a little something like this…


“Meg, can you believe this!  They are hanging out their dirty laundry AGAIN!”


The following day…


“Meg, for crying out loud, they are doing it AGAIN!  Don't they have any pride?  They're hanging out their dirty Laundry AGAIN!”


This happened day after day after day, until one day…


“Meg!  Come quick!  They FINALLY are hanging out some CLEAN laundry!”


“Oh no they aren't, I just cleaned our windows.”




Perhaps you just need to clean your windows and have a look at your content marketing strategy through a different lens.Click To Tweet

Here's a few ways you can jazz up that boring industry.


Switch Up The Delivery


Have you ever tried to read a book when you were already drained and tired?


Not much fun.


If you are like most people then you probably ended up falling face flat into the middle of that book.


Unfortunately, if you work in a so-called boring industry then you will need to utilize another vehicle of delivery when it comes to your content.


Are you selling leaf blowers?


Well, articles of several thousand words on the specs and features of the latest leaf blowers may intrigue some, but may not for most.


In fact, you just may be putting them to sleep quicker.


You can help to make the content more interesting, just in the vehicle you choose for delivery.


For example, a boring article on leaf blowers may not be so interesting, BUT a video on the latest leaf blowers blowing ridiculous things and such showcasing their features…well, now it's getting interesting.


Here's a great example:


YouTube Video


Make Dull Content ACTUALLY Interesting


Please keep in mind that the word interesting is subjective.


What is interesting to some may not necessarily be interesting to other people.


The extent of HOW interesting something can be is only restricted to your imagination.


Think back to some of the earlier commercials on television and you'll see what we mean.


Glue.


Yeah…glue.


How in THE world do you make glue interesting?


When you talk about dull, perhaps it doesn't get any duller than GLUE.


Yet somehow decades later, the one commercial that may stick out in the minds of many is THAT one crazy glue commercial.


Take a trip down memory lane.


To emphasize the strength of the super glue adhesive, they used it to attach a hard hat to a beam on a building way up off the ground.


What was the only thing stopping the person wearing the hard hat from falling?


Yes, you guessed it – the super glue adhesive stuck between the helmet and the beam.


YouTube Video


Dull?


Yes, the product itself may have been dull…the content and delivery?  


Not at all.


You CAN make your content interesting; it's just a matter of how much you want to restrict your imagination.


Here are a few things you can answer when you are creating your content to help it become more interesting.


What Can You Do To Make Your Content Shocking Or Add Shock Value?


Crazy GlueIn the case of the super glue, you can probably see what the thought process could have possibly have been.


Things such as – What are some crazy things we can do to show how tough this glue really is?


What can we glue to emphasize this?Crazy Glue


Not only does gluing a grown man's hardhat to a beam emphasize the strength it is capable of, BUT placing him high up in the air shows the confidence they have in their product.


Weak glue = Injured Dude


What Can You Do To Make Your Content Funny?


Let's go back to the leaf blower.


Leaf blowers are standard fare in yard work.


It makes the difficult task of sweeping up that much easier.


So what can you do to make it interesting?


Well, another thing to try out is humor.  


How can you take your product and utilize humor to drive home your point?


For starters, you can emphasize the strength of the leaf blower.


Picture this:  The video zooms in to show a yard worker with the latest and greatest leaf blower.  


All over the yard you see him blowing and pushing, leaves, grass and other pieces of greenery with the push of a button.


Leaf Blower


The screen pans to a sign that says, “It's so powerful, and it'll dry even the toughest areas!”


The camera then pans to the man walking into a bedroom to dry his wife's wet and frizzy hair.


Okay, perhaps not that funny, but we think you get the picture.


Using humor in your content can go a long way, especially if your topic and industry is not the most interesting.


Take It One Step Further – Do It Bigger And Better


This takes some of the information we discussed earlier and pushes the boundaries and limits.


When you are developing ideas, there are tendencies to think a little smaller.


For example, in the first versions of that commercial, perhaps the creators thought – “Let's just hang the stuntman from the ceiling.”


As the envelope got pushed, because really how could it not have?


The creators probably said “No, higher.”


And…“No, higher.”


Then…“No, higher.”


This probably went on until the poor guy ended up several stories up off of the ground.


When you are looking to make your content marketing interesting, take it a step further, then another and see how much bigger and better you can do it until you start to get the feeling that your content just may be going viral.




There's an old saying that goes, to beat out your competition just do what they are doing, only better.Click To Tweet

Take a look at the content that's out there and take your marketing a step or two further.


Get Some Help


You probably have some GREAT ideas.Get Content Marketing Ideas


However, you are stuck with what you have in your head.


Unfortunately, there are probably others out there with some GREAT content marketing ideas as well, but you won't be able to hear them unless you ask AND listen.


Enlist some of the help of your team or even others in the industry you may know of.


If you are unable to reach out to these types of people, then reach out to others in your network and see what kinds of content ideas you may be able to glean from them.


Another thing that you can do is to take a look at what others in your industry are already doing.


NOTE:  Do Not Copy!  Yes, don't blatantly copy what other people are doing.  However, you can take a look and see what is being done, what is being shared and what others see as interesting AND improve on it.


The saying goes that two heads are better than one, so enlist some help to get your creative juices flowing.


You'll be surprised at the ideas that start to come out on paper and in conversation when you actually START this kind of conversation.


Make It Important


What's important to some may not be important to others.




You can instantly make content important to someone if it's content they need to see right away.Click To Tweet

For example, the cheapest car batteries aren't that important to someone whose car is running just fine.


However, it's VERY important to someone on a budget whose car just died and needs a new car battery.


What's Important and Relevant


Along with the word important should be relevant.


You can make content that's dull, very interesting, and very relevant IF it's done so in a way that meets someone right where they are at, right when they need it.


Closing Thoughts


Your content and your industry are not as dull as you may think.


In fact, with a little cleaning of your windows and a little look through a different lens, you just may find that your industry is actually pretty interesting.


Maybe not as interesting as glue, but you get the picture (sorry to the glue manufacturers out there, we're just kidding).


Honestly, you have all you need to make your content marketing interesting right there between your two ears.


Your content is really only restricted to your own imagination.


Liked this post? Please share on social media with your friends, followers, and connections.


Still want more content marketing help?  Download our Content Marketing Guide Instantly!


Content Marketing Guide


The post In A Dull Industry? How Content Marketing Can Still Work appeared first on YEAH! Local

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

You've Been Branded! How to Use SEO to Build Your Brand

You've Been Branded! How SEO Can Build Your Brand


Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about getting YOUR brand more visibility.


That's really the name of the game.


You are optimizing your online properties such as your social media accounts, website(s) and listings on directory sites to get in front of more eyeballs.


Building your Brand is all about visibility.


This is why it makes complete and total sense that the two go hand in hand.




If used correctly, then brand building is a nice byproduct of your SEO efforts.Click To Tweet

How do these work together you may be wondering?


Glad you asked, let's explore this a little deeper to see just how it's done.


It's A Search Engine World


For starters, a lot of what we do in our world today is based off of the major search engines that we use like Google, Yahoo! Or BingGoogle SEO


We live in a fast paced society that has come to heavily rely on the Internet.


Where we once used libraries, phone books (do those still exist?) and word of mouth recommendations, we now turn to search.


Let's take a look at some everyday common occurrences and you'll see how true this is…


Your Morning Commute


You wake up in the morning and wonder what your commute will be like for the day.


Will you be stuck in traffic? Will you be able to make your train? Are there any road closures?


What do you do?


If you are like most then you probably are going to some website or phone app that can tell you EXACTLY what the traffic looks like in your area.


If you don't have one to speak of, then you likely turn to the…wait for it…


…Search Engines!


Yes, you do a simple search and the first few results get your attention.


Whether these sites are places like TrafficLand.Com or even your local news site, they all have one thing in common – They are all brands.


Even if you have a favorite out of all them, YOUR favorite is also A brand.


Build Your Brand


Think about it.


It became your selection of choice because it was probably one that you found through some venue online – Perhaps an email from a friend, doing an online search or from some review site.


The end all is that it got to your device due to visibility from other sources, which were more than likely gained through some type of search engine optimization.


Okay, let's take a look at another one.


Your Lunch Break


It's lunchtime and unless you packed a lunch or have some place in mind, then you have some choices to make as to a place to have lunch.


So what do you do?


Well, you can ask around the office or think about WHAT you feel like eating.


If you are like many working adults, then the chain of events, or rather the chain of thought processes probably looks a bit like the following:




  1. You start to get hungry and want to try out some place new for lunch. You are really craving some down home spaghetti, but just don't want one of those fast food type places, so you pull up your favorite search engine.




  2. Upon pulling up your favorite search engine, you enter something along the lines of…”Italian Food Atlanta.”




Google Search for Italian Food Atlanta




  1. Based upon your results from the first page, you get some pretty good information and can now narrow down your choices by:




    1. Selection (Menu)




    2. Reviews




    3. Proximity






If you haven't already guessed it, there is A LOT of SEO that was done on a few of those sites that have landed in your potential choices.


Let's look at the first.


Selection. Since the person behind that website probably knew that you would be looking for terms like “Spaghetti” or “Chicken Parmesan” or “Orzo,” along with “Italian Food Atlanta,” then there is a very good chance that the site was optimized with such words.


Can you guess which restaurant may be getting a visit from someone in the area craving Chicken Parmesan for lunch?


Reviews. Yes, reviews play a VERY big role in building your brand. Bad reviews can ruin your brand, while great reviews can do quite the opposite.


Choices Based on Reviews


You can bet that the reputation management for some of these restaurants as well as the optimizing of reviews was also done, in order to help.


Proximity. You can't go to a restaurant you can't find, right? Maps show up in the search engine results and optimizing these maps for the results pages can have a positive effect on your brand.


While it may not appear to play into your building your brand, it truly does.




What you have to offer, what people are saying about your business and your location all say a lot about your brand.Click To Tweet

They say things like:




  • We offer some things that others don't




  • People know, like and trust us and that's why they keep coming back




  • We are in a great location, we are easily accessible and easily found




If that doesn't speak to building your businesses brand, we're not sure what will.


SEO plays a big role in showcasing all of these things properly.


You could have a great website selection, but if your on-page optimization is not done properly OR if those keyword phrases aren't even on there, then how are the search engines supposed to display it?


Much less display them on the first page for potential new clients and customers to see?


You could have great reviews of what people think of your business, but if they aren't being encouraged to post reviews (with the right phrases) OR if they are being posted on low authority sites that aren't on the first page then how are the search engines and searchers supposed to see them?


Can't Find You Online


If you have a great location and haven't even claimed your business in some of the search engine listings and optimized your maps, then how are they…you get the idea, right?


Time To Get Social


Everyone and their dog seems to have a social media account.


You can't seem to get away from Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.


Dog has social media account


EVERYONE seems to have one of these kinds of accounts, and yes, they play an EXTREMELY big role in your brand building.


In fact, we may even go as far as saying that they can make or break your branding if you do it incorrectly.




Social Media can make or break your branding if you do it incorrectly.Click To Tweet

The first thing we have to bring up though is the image you want to portray.


Personal Vs. Professional


Now, unless the brand is you, then you will really need to think this one out.


If your business is your brand, then you will probably want to steer away from using your personal social media accounts for your business.


You really shouldn't be mixing the two anyway, as the image you want to portray of your business is likely a professional one.


The How-Tos


Social Media can get used incorrectly, haphazardly and wastefully.


What we mean by incorrectly is that you may find yourself bombarding your audience with self-serving posts.


What does this look like?


Well, it looks a little like this:




  • “Come out to our latest sale this weekend!”




  • “Everything is 20% off on Saturday!”




  • “We've got some great deals at the shop come on by!”




Here's the thing, when all people do is sell to us, we are more than likely to hit that un-follow button.


Do yourself a favor and temper your promotions with some ACTUAL content that people will want to read.


You can use a content curation service like Quuu.co.  They will even post it for you!


Quuu.co Social media marketing


If you own a T-Shirt shop, then don't just tell them about stuff you want to sell them.


Perhaps posting about the differences with different fabrics, and what types of shirts to wear for the different seasons of the year.


Perhaps another post about tips on selecting the right style and cut of shirts for your body type.


Maybe even a post on how to choose shirts as presents for others.


You can't constantly sell to people.


It gets annoying, trust us.


Social Media posting can also become haphazard, which is why you need to have some type of calendar and schedule in place to make your posts.


Buffer has a great social media content calendar built right into their system as you can see below.


Social Media Content Calendar


Sure, if you have a fresh piece of content then definitely post it and promote it, but if you have no schedule in place, then you just may find yourself going days or weeks in between posts.


You would be hard pressed to find someone who would constantly check up on your profile if you weren't posting regularly, why would they?


How often should you post and re-post? Tweet and Retweet?


Well, that's up to you.


The best way to decide and get a handle on it is to set up some type of schedule, then test it out and change it up as you see fit.


Lastly, you do run the risk of being wasteful with your posts.


How?


Just posting to post, that's how – You need to be intentional, you need to be purposeful.




When it comes to building your brand, you need to be smart about it.Click To Tweet

This again is where SEO comes into play.


If you want more visibility on specific posts that you are making, then you will need to use the right keyword phrases, putting them in the right keyword driven categories and adding in the right keyword hashtags.


When you are able to do this, then you are able to get your content in front of the right eyeballs.


Optimizing of your content through SEO methods will ensure that your target audience sees your content FIRST.


Whether that is in the regular search engines, or within the search functions on social media sites.


If you aren't optimizing your content and profiles with the right phrases and keywords and not posting on a regular basis, then it will be difficult to build your brand.


When you are constantly in the public eye for your niche, due to your SEO efforts, then people can't help but think of you when it comes to your industry or time to buy.


Online Marketing


For example, if someone is searching online for a T-Shirt shop to get some shirts for a friend's birthday, and your social media account pops up in the search engines first, guess whose shop may be getting a visit soon?


SEO – Your Brand's Cheerleader


As you can already see, SEO plays a very major role in your branding.




SEO actually acts as your company or business' biggest cheerleader and ultimately helps to build up your brandClick To Tweet

EVEN if you are new to your field or niche.


When SEO can put you in front of people searching for what you offer, and can do so by having you rise to the top of the searches, then you can't help but get a piece of the action.


Your brand can't help but be built up and put up front and center for your target audience to see.


To help illustrate this point, let's take one last look at this idea of a cheerleader, and pull together all of the areas we have already discussed.


SEO is Biggest Cheerleader


Let's say that you own a tire shop and someone online has been searching for a tire shop in his or her city.


When they go to Google and type in “Best Atlanta Tire Shop,” then…




  • Your website shows up at the top of the page




  • Another link pops up showing your wide selection of tires




  • Yelp pulls up as another link showing your rave reviews




  • A pin on a map shows up that you are just a few miles away




  • Your social media post on Facebook shows up on HOW to best select tires




You proactively had all of your web properties SEO'd with the right phrases and now dominate the first page of the results for that keyword phrase.


Your SEO efforts have the search engines cheering and singing your praises and essentially telling the searcher:


“Hey searcher, you should REALLY check out this shop! Can't you see it's one of THE best in Atlanta?”


You've been branded.


You've been branded as one of the BEST in your industry in your area.


You've been branded thanks to your biggest cheerleader – SEO.


Want to Get Branded, But Just Need a Little Help?  Download Our SEO Checklist Instantly!


Atlanta Local SEO Checklist



The post You've Been Branded! How to Use SEO to Build Your Brand appeared first on YEAH! Local